Description
Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli & Missa Aeterna Christi Munera – Oxford Camerata, Naxos (CD)
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Product Details
- UPC: 0730099557320
- Catalogue Number: 8.550573
- Brand/Label: Naxos
- Composer: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
- Ensemble: Oxford Camerata
- Conductor: Jeremy Summerly
- Release Year: 1992 (recorded 24–25 September 1991)
- Genre: Classical – Choral/Sacred Music (Renaissance)
- Country of Producing: European Union (EU)
Product Features
- Format: Audio CD, DDD (fully digital recording), Stereo
- Total playing time: 56:10
- Cover artwork: Mater Dolorosa, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (AKG Berlin)
Overview
Missa Papae Marcelli carries one of classical music's most persistent legends: that Palestrina wrote it specifically to prove polyphonic church music could survive the Council of Trent's push toward stripped-down, text-clear plainchant. Whether or not the story is literally true, the mass itself makes the case on its own terms — dense six-voice polyphony that somehow keeps the sung text remarkably intelligible throughout, a genuine technical achievement wrapped in music of real serenity. Paired here with the more restrained, four-voice Missa Aeterna Christi Munera, written toward the end of Palestrina's life, the two works show a real contrast in scale and ambition within the same devotional idiom. The Oxford Camerata under Jeremy Summerly bring the kind of blended, unforced choral sound this repertoire depends on — no vibrato-heavy grandstanding, just clean voice-leading and careful balance. Recorded in the resonant acoustic of Dorchester Abbey, this is a genuinely fine account of two cornerstone works of Renaissance polyphony, essential listening for anyone interested in the era's sacred choral music.
Interesting Facts
- Missa Papae Marcelli is surrounded by a popular legend claiming Palestrina composed it specifically to demonstrate that polyphonic music could remain compatible with the Council of Trent's demands for textual clarity in church music.
- Palestrina's known output includes 104 masses, 375 motets, and 35 Magnificats, making him one of the most prolific composers of sacred Renaissance polyphony.
- Missa Aeterna Christi Munera, composed later in Palestrina's life, is written for four voices and reflects a more restrained, contemplative style than the six-voice Missa Papae Marcelli.
- The recording took place in Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire, a historic medieval building whose acoustics are well suited to unaccompanied Renaissance polyphony.
- The Oxford Camerata, directed by Jeremy Summerly, built an extensive Naxos discography specializing in Renaissance and early sacred choral repertoire.
Track Listing
Missa Papae Marcelli (35:11)
- Kyrie – 4:31 · 2. Gloria – 5:30 · 3. Credo – 8:28 · 4. Sanctus – 8:49 · 5. Agnus Dei – 7:49
Missa Aeterna Christi Munera (20:00)
- Kyrie – 2:07 · 7. Gloria – 2:51 · 8. Credo – 5:05 · 9. Sanctus – 5:01 · 10. Agnus Dei – 4:53
Publishers
Naxos, part of the Naxos Music Group, recorded in Dorchester Abbey, Oxon (producer Murray Khouri, engineer John Taylor).
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